Supporting Information

The volumetric value for the line item for the 2010–11 year was 1,406,832 ML. The line item includes groundwater entitlement or other arrangement that may produce a groundwater liability within the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) region. The following table presents breakdown information for the line item value on sustainable diversion limit (SDL) area basis.

Groundwater access entitlement for allocation extraction in the MDB region as applicable in the 2010–11 year

The table provides information about New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Other jurisdictions for which information about groundwater entitlement not able to be separately classified are:

Australian Capital Territory – no groundwater management units from the Australian Capital Territory are being reported in this account

Queensland – no information available to be reported.

Other supporting information:

The South Australian – Victorian Border Groundwaters Agreement (Government of South Australia 2005) is supported by legislation in both States. It provides for equitable sharing in the border zone, which extends from the coast to the Murray and is a 40 km wide zone centred on the border. The states agree on setting permissible consumptive volumes (PCVs) and other requirements within this zone. Various alluviums selected for reporting are either within or partly within this border zone. These are the Murrayville Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA), Kaniva Tertiary Confined Sand Aquifer (TCSA) and Telopia Downs WSPA in Victoria, and Mallee Prescribed Wells Area and Tintinara–Coonalpyn prescribed wells area in South Australia. These are State groundwater management units and licensed entitlements and extractions are included within the state groundwater management unit – not within the border zone. Therefore, separate reporting on the border zone is not needed and would be double-counting.

The Tintinara–Coonalpyn prescribed wells area is not included as part of this region. It is not considered to be part of the MDB resources and is excluded by Water Act regulations from the MDB.

Quantification Approach

Data Source

Jurisdictional water sharing plans and other data sources for groundwater resources listed under Method.

Provided by

Murray–Darling Basin Authority.

Method

Extracted/calculated from following jurisdictional water sharing plans and other data sources for groundwater resources.

Water sharing plans for groundwater resource plan areas:

Water Allocation Plan for the Angas–Bremer Prescribed Wells Area

Water Allocation Plan for the Noora Prescribed Wells area

Water Allocation Plan for the Peake, Roby and Sherlock Prescribed Wells Area

Water Sharing Plan for Lower Lachlan Groundwater Source 2003

Water Sharing Plan for Lower Macquarie Groundwater Sources 2003

Water Sharing Plan for Lower Murray Groundwater Source

Water Sharing Plan for Lower Murray Shallow Groundwater Source

Water Sharing Plan for Lower Murrumbidgee Groundwater Source 2003

Water Sharing Plan for Murray Unregulated and Alluvial

Water Sharing Plan for New South Wales Great Artesian Basin Shallow Groundwater

Assumptions, Limitations, Caveats and Approximations

The entitlement volumes reported are the initial volumes of the water sharing plans. The actual volumes of entitlements during the 2010–11 year period may be different from the initial volumes on issue at the time of the water plans' commencement, due to conversions between classes or issue of new entitlements. Note that trade (ownership transfer), water savings projects or buy back of entitlements for environmental purpose do not change the volume entitled within a class but only its ownership.

Uncertainty Information

The uncertainty estimate was not quantified.

Comparative year

This line item corresponds to line items listed in the following table and reported in the 2010 Account. In the 2011 Account, the following change was made that caused the 2009–10 year value to be restated:

Improved data sets were made available after the publication of the 2010 Account. Restatement of the value published in the 2010 Account was made as the difference was material and increased the accuracy of the information provided to the users of the National Water Account.

The changes and their respective values are detailed in the following table.

Restatement of comparative year information made for the line item 33.3 Groundwater access entitlement for allocation extraction

Description

Northern Basin (ML)

Southern Basin (ML)

Whole region (ML)

Line item names and values reported as at 30 June 2010 in the 2010 Account

R2.2.1 Stock and domestic class

0

324

324

R2.2.2 Urban class

17,299

4,631

21,930

R2.2.3.7 Other lumped holders

355,046

970,490

1,325,536

Total value reported for the 2010 Account

372,345

975,445

1,347,790

Changes in the value reported in the 2010 Account due to availability of improved data sets